Cationic polysaccharides and other polymers have been used widely in personal care and household products to perform a function in the final product, ranging from thickening to conditioning of a substrate. Depending on the application, the substrate can be skin, hair, or textile material.
Cationic polysaccharides are used in haircare products to provide conditioning to the hair. In skincare products, these same polymers can provide conditioning effects to the skin. When incorporated into detergent and fabric softening formulations, these same polymers can provide conditioning, softening, anti-pilling, color retention and antistatic characteristics to fabrics.
Hair conditioning agents perform their functions at the cuticle, or outer sheath of keratinized scales on the surface of the hair fiber. The cuticle's scales are arranged in overlapping fashion like the shingles on a roof. The cell structure of the cuticle is composed of an A layer, the exocuticle, and a B layer, the endocuticle. The clear outer A layer, composed of sulfur-containing proteins, protects the hair from chemical, physical, and environmental damage. Consequently, the condition of the cuticle determines the condition of the hair, and hair-conditioning products are directed toward enhancing and restoring the cuticle shaft layer. An intact cuticle is responsible for the strength, shine, softness, smoothness, and manageability of hair. (Conditioning Agents for Hair & Skin, Ed. R. Schueller and P. Romanowski, Marcel Dekker, Inc., NY, N.Y., 1999.)
Wet and dry combability measurements are typical test methods used to measure conditioning-performance in shampoo and conditioner applications. Commercial cationic conditioning polymers in the marketplace have been reported to reduce the wet combing force experienced on combing wet hair by 30%-50% relative to the shampoo containing no polymer.
Historically, only high molecular weight cationic polymers have been used in cleansing products, and it has been suggested that only high molecular weight cationic polymers can deliver the conditioning effect desired in cleansing systems (V. Andre, R. Norenberg, J. Rieger, P. Hoessel, Proceedings, XXIst IFSCC International Congress 2000, Berlin, p. 189-199). However, the high molecular weight cationic guar conditioning polymers, available in the marketplace, have their drawbacks, such as incompatibility with surfactant systems used in shampoo, bodywash, conditioners, skin care, sun care, laundry products etc. In addition, they contribute to the final product viscosity, which may not be desirable. High molecular weight cationic guar polymers are also known to be difficult to disperse and dissolve in aqueous solution.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,689 B1 discloses the use of an amphoteric guar gum composition that contains cationic and anionic groups attached to its backbone for treating keratin substances. This composition is used in aqueous systems of cosmetics such as shampoos, topical sprays, dental care products and products containing fragrances and/or antimicrobial agents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,756,720 describes a process for producing a polygalactomannan composition having nonionic and cationic groups attached to the backbone. This patent describes the achievement of high optical clarity in cleansing surfactant formulations with this composition. The hydroxypropyl cationic polygalactomannans of this composition, however, have been found lacking in conditioning performance, as described in WO 99/36054.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,674 describes a process for preparing polygalactomannan gum and a polygalactomannan gum composition prepared by a specific process that includes aqueous alcohol processing. The product is described as giving 85-100% transmittance at wavelengths between 500-600 nm at 0.5 part polymer in 100 parts of an aqueous solution. The use of this material in personal care applications is disclosed.
JP Application Hei 10 [1998]-36403 discloses a cosmetic composition that uses a polygalactomannan degradation product that has 80% or higher of its molecular weight distribution within the range of 4,500 to 35,000 for use in hair and skin care products.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,480,984 and 6,054,511 disclose an aqueous, high solids low viscosity polysaccharide composition and a method of making the composition by reacting a polysaccharide and hydrogen peroxide oxidizing agent to produce a product with a solid content of about 20% to about 50% and a viscosity below 9500 mPa·s at 25° C. Cellulose ethers, guar, and guar derivatives are disclosed as polysaccharides that have a wide variety of uses such as in cosmetics.
U.S. Patent application serial number 20030199403 A1 discloses a shampoo composition of a detersive surfactant, a cationic guar derivative, and an aqueous carrier. The cationic guar derivative has a charge density of from about 1.25 meq/g to about 7 meq/g and a molecular weight of from about 10,000 to about 10,000,000.
Cationic HEC, such as Ucare Polymer JR400™ having a high cationic substitution has been cited by the manufacturer as causing “buildup” problems after repeated use. One manufacturer has recommended the use of cationic HEC having lower cationic substitution levels to eliminate buildup issues (“Cationic Conditioners that Revitalize Hair and Skin”, Amerchol Product Literature, WSP801, July, 1998). Buildup has been defined by this manufacturer as the binding of a polymer to a substrate, making it more difficult to remove the polymer from the substrate in subsequent cleansing treatments.
A need still exists in the marketplace for a cationic conditioning polymer that has broad surfactant compatibility, and can deliver personal care and household formulations with good conditioning performance. The present invention meets this need by providing cationic conditioning polymers that not only have good conditioning performance with broad surfactant compatibility, but also are economical to formulate in compositions where clarity is not necessarily an issue.